ATHENS , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Over the railroad tracks , near Agriculture Drive on the University of Georgia campus , sits a unique machine that may hold one of the solutions to big environmental problems like energy , food production and even global climate change .

Biochar 's high carbon content and porous nature can help soil retain water , nutrients , protect soil microbes .

`` This machine right here is our baby , '' said UGA research engineer Brian Bibens , who is one of a handful of researchers around the world working on alternative ways to recycle carbon .

Bibens ' specialty is `` biochar , '' a highly porous charcoal made from organic waste . The raw material can be any forest , agricultural or animal waste . Some examples are woodchips , corn husks , peanut shells , even chicken manure .

Bibens feeds the waste -- called `` biomass '' -- into an octagonally shaped metal barrel where it is cooked under intense heat , sometimes above 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit , the organic matter is cooked through a thermochemical process called `` pyrolysis '' .

In a few hours , organic trash is transformed into charcoal-like pellets farmers can turn into fertilizer . Gasses given off during the process can be harnesed to fuel vehicles of power electric generators . Watch how biochar is made and why it 's important ''

Biochar is considered by many scientists to be the `` black gold '' for agriculture .

Its high carbon content and porous nature can help soil retain water , nutrients , protect soil microbes and ultimately increase crop yields while acting as natural carbon sink - sequestering CO2 and locking it into the ground .

Biochar helps clean the air two ways : by preventing rotting biomass from releasing harmful CO2 into the atmosphere , and by allowing plants to safely store CO2 they pull out of the air during photosynthesis . See more about how biochar works ''

`` Soil acts as an enormous carbon pool , increasing this carbon pool could significantly contribute to the reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere , '' said Christoph Steiner , one of the leading research scientist studying biochar . `` It gives us a chance to produce carbon negative energy . ''

Worldwide use of biochar could cut CO2 levels by 8 parts per million within 50 years , according to NASA scientist James Hansen .

Global carbon levels in the air have been steadily increasing at an alarming rate since the 1980s , according to NOAA . Since 2000 , increases of 2 parts per million of CO2 have been common , according to NOAA . During the 1980s rates increased by 1.5 ppm per year .

The process of making biochar can also lead to other valuable products .

Some of the gases given off during the process can be converted to electricity , others can be condensed and converted to gasoline , and there are also some pharmaceutical applications for the by-products , said Danny Day President and CEO of Eprida , a private firm in Athens , Georgia currently exploring industry applications for the biochar process .

Although scientists look to biochar to improve the future , its origin lies in the past .

For centuries indigenous South Americans living in the Amazon Basin used a combination of charred animal waste and wood to make `` terra preta , '' which means black earth , in Portuguese .

Thousands of years later , the terra preta soil remains fertile without need for any added fertilizer , experts say .

`` These terra preta soils are older than 500 years and they are still black soil and very rich in carbon , '' said Steiner , a professor at the University of Georgia . Reducing the need for deforestation to create more cropland .

By using biochar concepts , terra preta soils have been proven to remain fertile for thousands of years , preventing further harmful deforestation for agricultural purposes . But still more large-scale tests need to be conducted before biochar technology can be rolled out on a global scale .

Day says biomass -- that otherwise would be thrown away -- could be developed into entirely new markets for biofuels , electricity , biomass extracts and pharmaceutical applications , in addition to biochar .

`` We have 3 billion people out there who are at risk for climate change and they can be making money solving our global problem , '' said Day .

Industries can now begin to look at farmers around the world and pay them for their agricultural wastes , said Day . `` They can become the new affluent . ''

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` Biochar ' may reduce greenhouse gases , produce clean energy , help farming

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Organic waste can be turned into valuable , renewable resources

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Ancient farming method could improve crop yields

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Experts : Biochar could reduce harmful global CO2 levels